FCAT backlash: Fact check finds some misleading claims

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the origin of a figure about the number of Orange County public school students retained last year. The figure came from a handout during a “truth about FCAT” meeting that Orange County School Board Member Rick Roach held recently.

A growing backlash against standardized testing in Florida could reach an important crossroads this week in Tampa when the Florida School Boards Association takes up the issue.

The association's expected debate about FCAT comes after a number of school boards, including Osceola County's, adopted anti-testing resolutions criticizing Florida's "overreliance" on the exams. Other groups have joined, too, pressing a "Fight FCAT" message.

The school-board association could endorse the effort at its annual gathering Thursday.

Fueling the anti-testing fire, however, are some incorrect or debatable claims about the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test taken by nearly 2 million students a year. Some are included in a white paper produced by Orange County School Board Member Rick Roach and parents, educators and other Central Florida school-board members.

What is the white paper, and what does it say?

Released last month, the 26-page report argues the state's testing system has too many negative "ramifications." The report aims to "fuel grassroots efforts for change to educational policy on high stakes testing."

What do Roach and supporters of "anti-testing" resolutions want?

Some want an end to all testing. Others want testing to count for less, so that important decisions — such as whether a student needs remedial reading — don't hinge on one exam.

"Each FCAT test is one test with a lifetime of consequences," Roach said.

What does the Florida Department of Education say?

The department says testing is a critical way to gauge student progress and has helped Florida make significant academic strides. It also calls the white paper "flawed" and full of misleading or inaccurate information. The paper, for example, says the state mandates that schools use "practice tests" ahead of FCAT, which is not true.

Does testing cost too much?

Florida has a multiyear, $254 million contract with Pearson, a national testing company, to administer FCAT and end-of-course exams. The amount spent this year is less than a third of a percentage point of the state's total education budget of about $20 billion.

Roach and others, however, argue that testing leads to other costs, such as schools hiring substitutes because teachers must proctor exams. "Why would you spend money on something you don't need? A dollar spent is too much," Roach said.

Does the state require students be retained if they fail FCAT?

State law requires retention for third-graders who score very poorly — a 1 on the 5-level exam — on the FCAT reading test. But the law has exemptions, and typically only about half those who score a 1 ended up barred from fourth grade. The white paper claimed 2,500 Orange students were held back last year, but state data show it was 1,280.

Is retention harmful?

Educators and researchers have debated this issue for years. Some say retention harms kids and has no long-term benefits. But Florida says its data show students who are held back do better through middle school than struggling students who move immediately to fourth grade.

Are there too many tests that take up too much time?

School districts say they test on more than 40, and sometimes nearly 80, of 180 school days. That can be "frustrating" for teachers because "they have to maneuver around that," said Charlotte Barolet, testing coordinator at Hagerty High School near Oviedo.

But not all the tests are taken by all students, and not all are required by the state. The Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading, for example, are required for struggling students in grades three to 12. They are time-consuming and given three times a year. But some districts, such as Orange, give them to many more youngsters and could choose to cut back.

"If it's helping the kids learn the standards, and it's helping the teachers inform instruction … what's the problem?" said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, founded by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Do the majority of students fail the 10th-grade FCAT reading exam needed for graduation?

That exam has been historically difficult for students to pass. But the white paper misstated the passing rate last year, saying it was 39 percent. Actually, 60 percent passed at the mark needed for a diploma. This year, it fell to 50 percent. But the paper is correct that thousands of students statewide take remedial-reading classes in high school because they failed FCAT.

Are the high-school FCAT exams based on "trickery" that requires students to use more than comprehension skills?